My husband and I traveled to a beautiful MN resort this past weekend. It was a weekend away, around our 15 year wedding anniversary and we were there to learn. Chad and I went to a conference called 2015 Collaborative Experience for Parents and Professionals … Continue reading Full Access
We have all had people tell us, “all you need to do is ask.” I find that an incredibly hard task. I don’t know why I don’t want to bother people or to be a bother. When I was a young girl I was in … Continue reading Just Ask and You May Receive
We rent a small house in a small town. I am a mom that works as many days as she can but overall I am a mom. What do mom’s do. They kiss boo boo’s, they wash clothes and pack school bags and COOK.
Early in the month my oven quit on my stove. I really don’t blame the oven it was the digital display that went out. Without those magical push buttons there was no way to turn on the oven. How stupid, why does a simple button need to control all. Is old fashioned knobs to good for a stove now days. Stove worked oven sat cold.
We waited a few weeks and got a call that our landlord found another stove and was bringing it in. I was so excited, it was a used stove but heck I didn’t care. It was a very nice looking stove but once it got out of the freezing temps of a storage unit, the freezing temps of the back of a truck and into our 68 degree home we discovered there was something terribly wrong. The stove had such a horrible smell that it burned our eyes and lungs. It was awful. Something had to have gotten into the insulation of the stove and it was ruined. No matter how nice it looked didn’t make up for how bad it smelled. It was like the worst 24 hours of my life. The house smelled so bad we couldn’t be in it and I had no way to cook for my family. It is like a basic instinct a mother has. To make a meal for her family. Oh I hate the question, “What are we eating tonight.” but I feel it is my job, a job I take joy and pleasure in. It was only 24 hours but it felt like I had failed. I had a full on anxiety attack the next morning. There was a smell in the house and I couldn’t even boil a pot of water. When I called my mom I told her my whoes and then I couldn’t even boil a pot of water. She has a way to put things into perspective. One- Why do I need to boil a pot of water at 8am. Two- this will pass and a new stove will be there shortly. That afternoon the stinky stove was taken out of the house and the spot sat empty where my cooking vessel should be.
Our landlord was looking all over for a good condition stove. Saturday I had the idea of going to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. What a treasure trove of items. I found my stove!!!! Looking at it I knew I needed this stove. It was odd I walked around the store and had to keep walking back to this stove. Called my landlord up and said cancel getting a stove by tomorrow I found one. This is an old stove it has a vintage look that I love. There is chrome on the corners. A green sea glass color on the oven glass window and behind the knob controls. Yes knobs no digital display to go out on me there.
My heart is happy. I can provide food for my family and friends. We weren’t home an hour with the new stove and cookies were baked. Last night a meatloaf and green bean casserole (were in Minnesota don’t ya know). Today was a pan of brownies and an egg bake for dinner. I am sure supper will go back to a chore but for now I am loving it.
My role is fulfilled as a mom. I am sure many would disagree but it makes me feel like there is a purpose, I know my role and I can excel at it.
I just need to share something here on my blog since it started on my blog. A while ago I received a comment on here from Hands and Voices. They asked if I would write something would tie in my hearing loss, my blog and … Continue reading Finding Where You Belong
This little boy is such a joy in my life. He brings laughs, cuddles, and stress. The past few weeks I have had my mind racing. I have been quiet on here and I believe it could be because my mind is on overdrive thinking … Continue reading My Boy
Christmas means many things to many people. To me it is Family. Family we can see, visit with, feast with, and catch up with. Now that I live away from my family Christmas was something I was really looking forward to this year. We went … Continue reading Christmas with Grandma
Christmas has come and gone. We have traveled across the state for six days and now returned home. During my time to the Twin Cities I made an appt for a hearing aid repair at Starkey Hearing Labs. I love my Starkey aids but living … Continue reading When a Hearing Aid Repair Feels Like A Celebrity Sighting
Tree is up, presents are wrapped. Finished up my shopping today. We have our first family christmas celebration tomorrow. I know there are people that rock the ugly Christmas sweater. That just isn’t my thing. So I pimped or blinged out my hearing aids with some snowman nail foils. Now I will be wearing something Christmas like. I will have the Christmas cheer. Find something that give you a little cheer and a smile to your face.
This past weekend I was telling my husband I was so tired. I didn’t feel sick just so tired, like I could fall into bed and sleep for a full day. Then I thought of everything we had done this past week and I know … Continue reading A Busy Time of Year
The saga or the war rages on. I thought I would update what happened since the last post about the ongoing issue with Carmike Theaters and Captions.
I mentioned in my last blog post that we were going to have an undercover mission with a friend of mine and her husband. They went to the theater knowing they did not offer captions but just wanted to see what the reaction would be when they asked about them. What happened next just shocked me. My friend did not talk just used sign language and her husband did the talking. They asked if captions were available and THEY DO HAVE CAPTIONS and provided my friend with a Captiview device. I was shocked and even more confused after all of this. I am very glad that my friend got to enjoy the movie and understand all of it. To make matters even more confusing it was the same manager that helped me helped her.
I called the theater again trying to get a hold of a manager. I had no luck doing this earlier. I actually got the manager and it was the one I talked to. He apologized that he didn’t give me captions. Then he went on to say that a “Full Deaf” woman came in today and I gave her captions. She couldn’t even talk so she was full deaf and needed them. It was thank you for your apology and now go stick your foot in your mouth. I told him I wrote a letter to the editor and he was aware of this, I guess the paper contacted the theater. I also told him I was waiting for a response from the theater and he told me he got my emails but just didn’t know what to do with them. That same night I received an email from a district manager asking some questions about the day, time and person we talked to. I responded right away to the email. A step forward I was contacted??
Next morning I get alerted that my letter to the editor was published. Had to run out on my lunch break and pick up the paper. Not everyday you are published in the paper, well maybe if you write for the paper. Here is a copy of what was written and published:
We are in a day in age where there is equal equality to all…but is there? I was at the Kandi Carmike Movie Theater this past weekend with my husband. We were going to a movie on his birthday. I happen to be hard of hearing and I asked if there were a captioning device I might use for the movie so I could understand the dialog. I was given the response from a manager that those devices take lots of paperwork, signatures and time so we don’t bother with them. This really upset my husband and I. Paperwork is such a pain that we can discriminate an entire group of people from the movies. A simple no would have worked but to go on that it is a pain and burdensome was unneeded. I guess my money doesn’t need to be spent at the Carmike theater anymore. November 21, 2014 the HLAA (Hearing Loss Association of America) had a landmark deal with Theater Owners of America that come 2015 closed captioning for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Visual Description for the Visually Impaired will be required of all theaters. I look forward to this day, and I look forward to the day when the pain of paperwork and time doesn’t discriminate a group of people. We wouldn’t think of having a theater not wheelchair accessible, not all disabilities are visible.
I have not heard anything from the theater until today. I was contacted by CCAC (Collaborative for Communication Access via Captioning). After corresponding with CCAC they sent an email to the district manager and copied me on the email and response. The email was sent and I thought AHHH now we wait. A whopping 5 minutes later we have a response from the district manager that they have captioning and are in the law complete with pictures of the Captiview devices and the headphones. CCAC sent another email back to them thanking them for their speedy response but alerting them as it is nice they have the devices they are denying them to certain patrons if they don’t look deaf enough. They asked the theater to issue an apology. This email hasn’t been answered.
So again we wait…..
Musings of a Momma 